Cusick was one of the faithful members of Kirkland's congregation. He had served as a lieutenant on the American side during the Revolutionary War and had been bodyguard to General Lafayette. He was interpreter for the church on the Niagara Reservation from 1800-1828, but did not remove permanently from Oneida territory to the Tuscarora tract near Niagara until 1806. Nicholas Cusick to Samuel Kirkland, March 17, 1800, Kirkland Papers, Hamilton College.